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Summary

Examines the role of the sacred in art and makes a compelling case for its continued contemporary relevance.

"Varied, vigorous, and challenging, this multifaceted worksucceeds in making a compelling case for the reviving and sustaining force of the spiritual in contemporary art. The book ranges from theoretical issues to studies of particular artists, and brings together many different strands, each of which offers its own contribution to the sacred in art. Both in its breadth and originality, Reclaiming the Spiritual in Art vividly illuminates the aesthetic power of the sacred." -- Arnold Berleant, Long Island University

From Walt Disney World to the movie Natural Born Killers, this book explores uncommon indicators of the spiritual in contemporary art and culture. Drawing on a diversity of perspectives in philosophy and aesthetics to highlight conscious and unconscious manifestations of the sacred in art, this work makes a compelling case for its continued contemporary relevance.

Multiple perspectives are included to articulate dimensions of the spiritual that continue to be largely overlooked in mainstream philosophy and criticism. Western theories in philosophy and aesthetics are interwoven with examples of Native American, Latin American, and African American aesthetic and spiritual precepts and practices to provide a sense of the variety of cultural influences at play. Connections are made between art and issues of cultural, ethnic, and gender identity, suggesting the possibility for both affirmative and subversive relationships among art, artists, and spiritual traditions.

"The best thing about this book is its willingness to question once again the relationship between art and the sacred, a relation that has been too much neglected in contemporary scholarship. The topic is most certainly significant and needs all the attention it can get, and this book gives it some. It is crucially important for literary studies, for philosophy, and for religious studies."-- James S. Hans, author of Contextual Authority and Aesthetic Truth